Levi Andrew: 23 Months Old

Dear Levi,


You are going to be two years old in just one more month.  I am keenly aware of the passing of time and it has made me more relaxed and more engaged with you and your sister.  I am enjoying little you so very much!

You love honey!  You are standing on a chair eating it out of the lid.

Green Acres is the place for me...

This past month your verbal skills continue to develop rapidly!  You describe aloud everything that is going on around you.  You have many word associations.

 "Where's Uncle John?...He went bye bye (frown)." 

"Blueberries yummy!"

"Car vroom! Vroom! It's fast! Oh! Crash!  Ouch!"

"Where's sissy?  There she is!"

"Good morning, Goldie!  She's swimming!  I love you, Goldie!"

"Set!  Go!  Boom!  Ahhh!" (Football)

 I am so proud of you!  I love all of this awesome language development!

Uncle John came to visit!

Always running and always smiley!

You are starting to play pretend like feeding stuffed animals food and water, taking a stuffed animal dog with a yarn leash for a walk around the house, driving and crashing your cars and putting pacifiers in baby dolls mouths and making the sucking sound.  You are very affectionate towards stuffed animals, dolls and even real babies!

You love to play with me.  You have started to take me by the hand and pull me towards the playroom or whatever activity you want me to join you for.  Usually cars!  You have also taken interest in throwing water balloons.  So fun!  Throwing rocks in the river is also very fun!  You've been watching more TV and reading more books/picture albums lately.

Loved every second!  A rare event!

 You have become very comfortable being left in childcare at church and the gym.  No more crying!  It is great to see you maturing and becoming confidant and secure on your own.

You still love to rough house with Daddy.  You engage in this type of play as soon as he's home from work, as though you've been waiting all day to get some punches out!  It is so fun to watch you both!  You seem to understand that hitting/wrestling is reserved only between you and him.  Thank you for being gentle towards Whitney and me!  I really appreciate your affection, kisses and cuddles.  Can't ever get too much!

This past month I have been taking you to Lake Natoma and Folsom Lake as well as the swimming pool and splash pads to play with water.  It is starting to get hot around here!  You have a ton of fun playing outdoors no matter the location.  It is your happy place.  You are eager to go for a car ride or sit in the stroller because you know it means we are going to do something fun!  Speaking of car rides, we just flipped your car seat around so now you face forwards.  You love being able to have a great view and I love seeing your sweet face in the rear view mirror!

Favorite foods lately--ice cream, Popsicles, cookies, chips, popcorn, raisins and dried apricots, iced coffee and Kombucha (I only let you take a few sips!), English muffins slathered with cream cheese, quesadillas, chicken nuggets with ketchup, canned peaches and pears, and fruit pouches.  You still don't eat veggies.  I have also allowed you to drink diluted fruit juice once in a while and you love it.  You love sweet foods the most.

You love standing on the chairs and seeking our reaction.  Makes you laugh!

You are becoming a good helper for Mommy.  You can follow directions and fetch things that I ask for or put things away.  You are such a sweetie.

First trip to San Francisco to visit the beach

I can't believe you are turning two years old!  You are such a special boy and I just adore you.  We all do.

Levi Andrew: 22 Months Old

Dear Levi,



We are quickly approaching your second birthday and I can hardly believe it!  I am so sad in a way!  You are getting so big, I wish you would slow down a bit!  I appreciate how affectionate you still are with me, though, wanting to be held and cuddled--it's just getting harder to do since you are quite heavy and tall!

This past month has been so fun with you!  I am blown away by your ever-expanding vocabulary!  You can name almost everything in your picture books and can string together words and say entire sentences.  You can fill in the blanks of familiar stories.  You can mimic nearly anything, too!  The most impressive thing you like to say lately is an excerpt from your favorite book--"Hi I'm Slick.  I like trucks.  Big or small, I like them all."  You love to make car sound effects.  You walk around making cool sound effects all day long!  Such a boy!

You are getting to be more aggressive lately.  You love to punk/punch everyone. You think it is hilarious!  We do, too, because you act so strong but your punch is still so weak!  It is adorable.  But at the same time, we are teaching you only to wrestle/play rough with Daddy.  You are learning about being gentle towards Mommy and Whitney.

You love reading books (especially picture books where you can point and identify the pictures and books about cars).  You love playing with cars and are obsessed with the garbage truck, fire trucks, and dump trucks.



You spend tons of time riding your bike and buggy outside (regularly picking dandelions for me or selecting rocks to put on the back of your trike to take home).  You are really sturdy and can safely and independently climb up the big play structure in our backyard.  You love bubbles but can't quite blow them yourself.  You are having a blast throwing water balloons lately, too!  You are incredibly fun!  I love playing with you!  I love tickling you and making you laugh. It is really easy!  You are a happy kid most of the time!

Easter with the cousins (Campbell not pictured)!

After church on Easter

You are also in love with eating snacks.  You can reach the magnet and open the pantry by yourself.  Help yourself, my love!  :)  You love raisins and other dried fruit.  You love Cheerios, animal cookies, crackers, fruit pouches, quesadillas, bagels with strawberry cream cheese, fruit and yogurt.  You don't like veggies at all and only eat a little meat.  You aren't as picky as Whitney was at your age though and at least you will try most things even if you end up spitting them out.  

Garbage Day every Wednesday morning is a really fun time!  You are in awe of the garbage truck and hustle outside to watch it each time you hear it coming!  It is seriously so cute!  One day, the garbage man stopped to deliver presents for both you and Whitney--your own City of Folsom mini cans!  What a special moment that was to witness!

You are starting to skip your nap and just stay awake all day.  You never slow down!  It has been happening a few times a week lately!  At least you aren't grumpy!  

Every day is a fun adventure with you and your sister!  Love you, sweet boy! 

Levi Andrew: 21 Months Old

Dear Levi,

This month, we are continuing the trend--bigger, faster, stronger!  You weigh 30 pounds (shoe size 7 and clothing size 2T and now 3T)!  You are so quick when you are getting into trouble--good thing I'm a bit quicker than you!  You keep me on my toes!

I love watching you engage Daddy!

All boy!

You seem to be teething lately, maybe getting the second set of molars.  You are a lot fussier, drooling, fingers in your mouth all the time, and very clingy--you cling to Mommy like a tree frog quite often and don't want to be set down.  You are, in general, very puppy-like, following Mommy everywhere.  If I leave you with Daddy and Sissy, I hear that you often open the garage door and say, "Mama?" over and over.  I LOVE that you are in this Mama phase (knowing in the back of my mind that all too soon you will be independent) although sometimes it is not very convenient to have you hanging on me all the time like when I am trying to prepare dinner or something.

You are still SUPER into riding bikes.  Now you like to wear your helmet and it is so stinkin' cute.  You love your toy cars and love crashing them together (makes you laugh).  You love basketball and balls in general.  You love your ride-on Mickey car, too.

So close!

Your language continues to blossom--lots of new strings of words.  My favorites are, "I'm so CUTE!", "That's mine!", "I want some!", "Woo hoo, Hi Pal!" is what you say when you see Mickey Mouse, "ride bike", "I want milk" (out of a regular cup at dinner, never a sippy), "ouch!", "Head butt! OH!", "High fi{ve}" (and knuckles), "please/thank you/you're welcome", "Where's Whitney?", "Sissy sleeping" and more! 

This month, cartoons have been holding your attention a bit.  It is cute to see you relaxing on the couch and watching TV with Sissy!

You have become pretty attached to one of your baby blankies (brown on one side and blue polka dots on the other side) and one of your lovies (the black and white polka dotted Dolly).  You take them out of the crib with you when you wake up and you carry them around during the day.  They might be becoming the equivalent of Whitney's Baby :) We shall see!

You are enjoying books even more!  You have several favorites that you select each day, and most are car-related!

Life with you is so much fun.  I'm addicted to your handsome smile and hearty laughter and unabashed affection.

The cheeks I can't resist kissing!

You are the best son EVER.  OH!

Here's some Easter pictures below!  We celebrated with your cousins this year and it was a blast!

You guys get along so well!

Egg hunt in our yard

Early Easter festivities in Nevada

Love you boys!

Levi Andrew: 20 Months Old

Dear Levi,

You are getting so big, Son.  So tall.  So heavy.  Those cheeks!  That big tummy!  Solid, sturdy, FAST, HUNGRY, athletic.  A growing BOY is what you are! #biggerfasterstronger

As I reflect on this past month with you, I realize just how much growth has taken place aside from physically.  Indeed you are so skilled and so smart all of a sudden.  It still surprises me when you mimic me, joke around (you are really funny!), say new words and display new understanding.  It happens every single day-you show me just how BIG you are but in my mind you still aren't old enough to be doing and saying the things that you are doing and saying (and thinking and feeling).

One of my favorite things you like to say is "Get dow{m}!" and point your finger down.  You stand up on the chair or couch and say this.  Or even if you see a picture of a chair in a book, you say it.  Super funny!  You say, "All go{m}e (gone)" and "All do{m}e (done)".  You can say sleeping, I love you, cookie, more, ya (another one of my favorite words), no no NOOOO!, sissy, Hee Hee (Whitney), careful, bike, mine, na-na (snack), airplane, garbage truck, fire truck, bird, peas (please), and dee-doo (thank you).

You are super attached to Mommy lately.  I can't leave the room without you running after me, calling Mama and grabbing hold of me.  You lose it when I have to leave you at home with Dad and Whitney.  Goodbyes are almost always tearful when I drop you off at the gym or church child care.  I love you too, Sweet Boy.  We are very close.

You are still obsessed with cars and balls.  You {finally} recognize the sound of airplanes (and can find them in the sky).  I will never forget the first time you noticed!  You can hear the garbage truck coming and fire trucks, too.  You can recognize birds chirping.  You love to watch cars and trucks outside and of course play with all your toy ones.  You are really good at throwing balls, fielding, tackling, ball-faking, and shooting hoops.  You can imitate the moves that Daddy teaches you and it is really pretty amazing!

Your hands-down favorite activity these days is riding your tricycle(s).  You have four of them.  You can't pedal yet but you are quite fast just running your feet!  You never grow tired of it.  It is always what you want to do.  If you even look at one of your trikes, you beg to ride it, even if we are just trying to get you buckled into your carseat and ready to go somewhere (some of your bikes are stored in our garage where you can see them).  Walking along our street while you ride your bike is also one of my favorite things!  I bet the neighbors like watching you out their windows, too.  Cutie!

Your interest in books continues to grow. It is really fun and sweet to have you grab your favorites and climb into my lap to read them and look at the pictures.  You are just starting to point your finger at the pictures you recognize in a book and naming them as you point your little finger.  Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you, Son.

Your cousin Campbell was born on Valentine's Day!

You are such a sweetie, so full of happiness and so easy-going.  You are an amazing kid and delight me to my core!  God bless you, Levi!

LOVE watching you sleep!

Whitney Rose: 3.5 Years Old

Dear Whitney,

3.5!  Wow!

Half Birthday donut!

You are such a big girl!  These last six months have been so full of growth physically, socially, emotionally and spiritually!

Here you are, the inseparable pair! 

Holiday Lights at the Folsom Zoo

First gingerbread cookie

Christmas pageant at preschool--you were very shy that day!

Halloween costume

You would love to wear pajamas all day if you could

You really enjoy picking strawberries

Your favorite swimsuit

Thanksgiving

You are tall (5T or XS girls' clothes, size 10 shoes).  Your beautiful face is maturing.  You have the best smile and such pretty hair.  You just look and act so grown up!  

Preschool has helped you become more confident socially.  You even have your first best friend in your class, Emmalynn!  Not only are you in preschool together this year, but also you go to church together and took dance lessons together.  You are learning so much in school.  It is great to see you excited and confident about all that you do!

Preschool picture day--you picked out this outfit yourself!

You are more in touch with your feelings and are learning how to self-regulate.  As challenging as this has been, the fruit is so rich.  I am sure I will say that about each phase you journey through.  I feel blessed as your mother to help shepherd you as you learn how to handle your feelings.  Every feeling is so important and so is how you express and control each!  This is what we are working on.  Some of the things that frustrate you lately are choosing outfits, your hair (I like it pinned back but you like it down and hanging in your face), what's being served food-wise (you are super picky), and when it is time to turn off the TV (you never want it to end!).

You are an awesome girl, so full of life, fun and joy!  You're funny, spunky, sensitive, intelligent, and sweet.  We are having a ton of fun with you!  You love creating art projects (painting, play dough, stickers, glue, cutting with scissors),

riding bikes (you use training wheels),

New bike for Christmas

Hot chocolate break

balancing on one foot, somersaulting, dancing and singing.  You took dance lessons last fall and absolutely LOVED it!  Can't wait to start back up soon!

You enjoy going on adventures,

picking flowers for Mommy, playing pretend (you throw pretend parties and picnics every single day),

climbing ladders at the park/swinging/sand, and having play dates with friends.  Visiting relatives is another one of your favorite things!  You love to watch TV while Levi naps each afternoon, usually PBS Kids or sometimes a DVD like Mickey Mouse, Dora, or Leapfrog learning shows.  I love how much you learn from television and it is also a great break for Mommy!  You are great at putting together puzzles and building with Legos (you like to make big towers called "cakes").  Your imagination is huge!  You can make up stories and songs.  You are truly a joy to be around.

Looking at a photo album

Reading by yourself.  You have most books memorized after reading them a time or two!

You are also getting to be quite helpful and a great big sister to Levi!  We are so blessed!

Every day there is a bit of this...

You deserved it!  Haha!

Your daddy and I feel so happy when we hear you talk about God and Heaven.  You understand that He created you and created everything.  Every time you see the sunset you always exclaim, "Look, Mommy!  The sky!  God painted it all different colors!  Isn't it pretty?!"  We are so grateful to teach you about Jesus and we know that you will shine brightly for Him in our whole extended family, among your friends, and in our community.  What a sweet privilege and huge responsibility your Daddy and I have!

I love doing special things with you like taking you to see your first movie, The Peanuts Movie.

I also like taking you to get frozen yogurt with toppings and McDonald's ice cream cones.  I love reading stories to you and cuddling on the couch while watching your favorite shows.  I love baking with you.  I love when you show me affection and appreciation like when you tell me I'm the best mom ever and that you are glad I stay home with you and Levi rather than go to work.  I love when you draw me a picture or give me pretend presents like a box full of play jewelry.  I also love when you make me a cup of pretend coffee "just for my mom!" and cookies!  You are a real sweetie.

Some of my favorite things that you say are "car fixer-upper" (Jiffy Lube), "ice cream shop" (McDonald's), "Just tatend" (just pretend), "All by my own" (all by myself), and "See you tomo-yo!" (tomorrow).  I wish I could think of more cute things you say.  I know there are a lot!

Sideways but so cute.  This was back in September.

In six more months, you will be FOUR!  You are already planning to have a Minnie Mouse birthday party!  The years are flying by and I'm thankful to carve out a little time every six months to record a little about what you're like, Angel.  You are so special to me!  I love you, Baby Girl!